I’d like to knock out the guitar parts to Lines and Strange Trains this weekend. Yes, that’s ambitious. I’d be happy with half of that.

The first issue I’ll have to confront here will be guitar tone. I’ve gone back and forth with this one. My preamp, which plugs directly into the computer for recording, emulates 6 different preamps. For Zen Luck Ticks, I’ve been torn between sending my Les Paul through a Fender or a Marshall. Both tonal directions have similar sounds above the preamp setting, but the preamp setting truly does create some distinctiveness. I’ve thought as a compromise that I could lay the rhythm tracks with one and do the leads with the other. That may in fact be the solution, although the rhythm track I laid down for Can’t Wait uses the Marshall, and I had thought of doing those in reverse.

The second consideration will be the chord voicings and the last will be the groove. There’s an art to separating lead and rhythm parts, and for that matter, rhythm guitar and bass. Ultimately, I think, you want to create a unity. It gets back to lush versus sparse. The more difference there is among the voicings, the more dense and lush you make the production. Multiplying tracks is only necessary where a physical limitation occurs on a single track.

We shall see what happens when I plug in. I’m sure I’ll have many lessons learned to share.